The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-01-29
ADVENTURES o. A CALI.
FORNlA NUGGET.

There were a few lines of tele
graphic matter in the daily press ,
few days ago, says the Omaha Bee
to the effect that . party had lief
Colorado Springs to hunt for tn.
"Lost Nugget" Among the 70.
manoes Of the gold coast there arr
two which will live beyond all 9th
ers. The one is the Lost Cabin
and the other the "Lost Nugget.
Both have a foundation in fact, but
the story of the "Lost Nugget il
the more truthful.
In the old mining days of Cali.
fornia five or six men who had
come out together from Indiana
had a claim ON the San Joaquin
river. They were doing fairly we'll,
but nothing to brag of, when one
of them, q man named Charles Y.
Tooker, whose relatives yet live in
indianapolis, made the discovery
of the celebrated nugget. 1t was
in the spring Of the year, and he
was out hunting for roots and herbs
to cure a sort of scurvy which had
taken hold of some of them. In
climbing up a bank he Hslodged a
bowlder, and as this rolled down it
uncovered the nugget. 1t was
chunk of crude gold, weighing about
ninety pounds. 1t is not likely
that the mass was as pure as the
average small nuggets, but still it
must have been worth many thous-
ands of dollars. The entire bank
was afterwards dug away and the
neighborhood for half mile care
fully searched, but without another
ounce of gold being found.
Tooker was a single man, about
twenty-seven years old, and up to
this hour it had been share and
share alike with the little band.
His mind was instantly made up
to keep his discovery to himself,
and to get away with his treasure
at the first opportunity. He dug a
hole and buried the find, cerefully
marked the spot, and returned to
camp and tried to conceal his salts
faction and anxiety. 1t was a
month before he tried to make any
move. His object was to get the
nugget to San Francisco, and it
must be carried on the back of a
horse or mule. He had to invent
an excuse for separating himself
from the band, and this probably
gave rise to the first suspicious.
Tooker purchased mule of an i'm
migrant, hung around until he be-
lieved it was safe for him to depart,
and then dug up his nugget one
night, and set out on a journey
which would not have BEEN safe for
half q dozen men to undertake.
Those were rough days, and men
who had met with poor luck hunt
Ing for gold in the earth were on
the road as robbers and assassins.
lockers companions felt certain
that he had made a find, and his
every action was under surveil-
lance for several days before he
started. He quietly withdrew from
camp at night, led his mule to the
spot where the nugget was cached.
md loaded it upon a pack-saddle
md started off. He must have
Known of the dangers of the road, {
,ut the desire to convert that big |
imp into gold pieces overcame his
prudence. He was followed by !
wo of his companions, but they A.,
hardly knew what course to take. ;
He had made a find and was "jump- {
ng" them, but they had no legal
light to force division. 4
TOoker was followed until day. t
freak, and the nen had about made !
lp their minds to halt him and I
Orce him to turn back with his g
precious burden, when he was at t
acked by four or five footpads. A /
lvely fight ensued, and Tooker and g
ne of his pursuers were killed, and Q
he other was driven off. He re- /
urned to camp with the story, and '
his was the first of long series of
dventures in which the big mug :
ct has figured. lockers friends
to overhaul the robbers, 9
nd five in number they broke camp G
t once and began a pursuit. The {
ootpads had camp or rendezvous !
'ithin q few miles of where the !
Obbery occurred, and the nugget Z
as taken there for safety. This q
amp was discovered by the Tooker I
rowd, and in the fight which fol- t
,wed two Of them were killed, 3
lille only one of the robbers es- q
aped with his life. The nugget {
ad been buried, and, although the y
losest search was made for it, the q
ictors did not unearth it. The v
,bber who escaped made his way q
} San Francisco, and six months !
ter set about organizing an expe- G
ition to 60 after the lump. One a
{ the men who was to accompany q
i'm got the location of the cache
nd set out with a companion and n
'ached the place two days ahead i
the Others. The nugget was y